always, all ways
by planet p
Summary: in the alley, in the dark, whispering your name with no way out (always, all ways) :: A giftfic. For Alfie und Micky. [AU - OOC - Friendship] Clara/Danny, The Doctor/River


She's laughing with happy, smiling eyes and a hand to conceal her giggles behind though it's not concealing much of anything right now, and the sequined mod she's wearing shows off both her baby bump and her legs probably a little too well. She doesn't care because it's raining and it's beautiful and they're standing on a dirty street outside of a pawn shop holding hands while people dash about, displeased with the rain, and Paloma Faith stands in an alley looking mournful and gorgeous and singing about love and pain on the bank of TV screens and its probably drier inside but who cares?

Across the street, Donna is holding an umbrella for shelter and looking at her mobile phone. Some hair has blown into her face with the wind and she pushes it away, and that's when she sees them and frowns, certain they are looking at her, just her.

A car flashes by on the road between them, momentarily obscuring her view, and she sets her expression and marches their way, in the mind to ask them just why they're staring.

The Doctor holds Clara's hand tighter and Donna stomps up onto the pavement where they're standing and Clara can't help from saying, right to the other woman's face, in an awed whisper, "You're beautiful and fierce, and so married."

"I am so married!" Donna snaps back, agreeing with Clara, giving them the funny eyes, the once over, and Clara grins. "Happily married, thank you very much!" Donna goes on. "And it's raining! Have you noticed it's raining?"

Danny appears suddenly and takes off his coat to cover Clara up with but she isn't cold and now the Doctor is all alone and Donna is looking from one to the other and back again, frowning again. "You're smiling," Danny says to Clara.

"I'm smiling," she says.

"You're all wet."

"I'm all wet." She can't stop smiling. She reaches for the Doctor's hand and holds onto it while Danny ignores this other man and rubs Clara's arms for warmth.

"What is this? Where are we?" Danny asks.

"This is the shop."

"This is the shop," he echoes, still not seeing what she's seeing.

"Where I bought my first couch."

"Oh, good, this is the shop where you bought your first couch."

"I love that couch. It's the first piece of furniture I ever bought."

"A secondhand couch?" Danny questions.

"A pre-loved couch!" Clara beams. "Heavy emphasis on loved."

Danny sighs sadly. "Is he mad today? Are you both mad today? Hm? It's raining, Clara. You're wet. Your hair's all wet. You're three steps away from catching a cold," he suddenly notices her holding the Doctor's hand and adds, "and now you're two. It's the middle of winter, Clara."

"It feels like summer."

He nods. "Listen, Clara, you're pregnant. I don't want you drinking whatever it is you've been drinking, or just… never again."

"I love tea. You love tea. Why can't I drink tea, Danny?"

He turns to Donna, at a loss for words.

"That must have been some tea," she replies and he makes a face.

"Yeah, not really helping. Are you a friend? A friend of the family or an old pal from teacher's college?"

"Just a stranger, to be honest," Donna tells him frankly.

"My word! Now isn't that charming? That's fabulously charming!"

"A bit touched, are they?" Donna asks. "The pair of them?"

"No! No," Danny says. "Him? Go for your life, winsome! My fiancée is fine. She's perfect. The company she keeps, however, leaves a lot to be desired." He glares at the Doctor. "Doesn't it?"

Clara laughs abruptly and turns to the Doctor. "Do you remember-"

"Don't remind me, girl. I'm trying not to remember."

"I love this song. I think it's awesome!"

"You should play it at your wedding."

She smacks a hand over her mouth, her eyes going wide, and breaks into a fit of giggles.

"Clara, why are we here?" Danny asks.

She tucks some hair behind her ear, un-sticking it from her wet face with a little tug. "Looking for a book."

"It's a pawn shop, not a bookstore."

She shrugs and turns to smile at the Doctor again. "Just you wait. Just you wait and see, my clever boy. You'll be very happy."

"I'm not happy. I have that song, stuck in my head, and you're just smiling. You're just smiling!"

"I'm smiling like a mad woman!" she laughs.

"You are a mad woman."

"I know!"

"Clara."

Clara spins back to Danny and grins, punching him on the arm playfully. "Come inside with us, baby! It's warm and they have music and dancing and-"

"It's still a pawn shop, not a bookstore, and not a dance hall."

"It's awesome!"

"Awesome!" Donna chimes in brightly. "Let's all go inside, then." She gives Danny a significant look, a Don't argue and just do it, you daft thing! look, and they all clamber inside, the bell above the door jingling for a bit too long while Donna shakes rain off her umbrella and takes a few deep breaths.

When she turns back around, Clara is dragging the Doctor off to look at the books and Danny has a hand on his face, looking a bit lost.

"No!"

"Yes!"

"You're having me on!"

"Read it! Look! It says so right there, Amelia Williams."

"We'd better get over there," Donna says.

"Yeah," Danny agrees wearily, and follows Donna to the back of the shop.

"Tell me that's not awesome, Doctor?" Clara blurts, beaming sweetly enough to break teeth.

"It's sort of not," the Doctor replies, now just looking sad, and Clara stares at him until he makes himself smile. "Thank you, Clara. That was incredibly creepy and also very thoughtful of you."

"All in a day's work!" she says breezily, ridiculously pleased with herself all the same. "For you, my love," she adds jokingly.

Donna slides a glance across to Danny but he's pretending he didn't hear Clara's witty remark and can't wait for this to be over and done with.

Clara crowds into the Doctor's space and slides a hand across his and across the cover to open the book seeing as he appears to be frozen, and she stares at the words scrawled loving on the very first page and pales slightly.

"That is so weird!"

Inside the book, in what might just be River's handwriting judging from the way the Doctor's staring at it, are four words: For you, my love.

"Oh, wow, that's too weird!" Clara says, stepping back and standing nearly on top of Danny.

He takes hold of her arms and asks, quietly, in her ear, "Why are we here, Clara? Honestly, this time?"

"It's his birthday. I wanted to get him something nice, something special. A present. Okay, no, it's not his birthday, but it is now." She pouts. "Does he look sad to you? He looks sad to me. What do I do?"

Danny throws his hands up, lost again. "Buy it."

"What?"

"Buy the book. If it's special and it's for a present, then buy it."

Clara sighs with relief, beaming at him suddenly, and turns to snatch the book out of the Doctor's hands. "Excuse me. Thank you. Won't be long. Tea next!"

Donna whistles appreciatively and Danny winces, standing too close beside her in the squishy aisle. "I could go for a good cup of tea! Tea and cake."

"Excuse me, Donna."

"No problem," she says, shuffling out of the way to let the Doctor pass, patting Danny's arm when she steps on his foot. "Sorry, mate."

He looks at her and sighs and she holds his gaze for a beat too long and maybe she's not just talking about his foot. He looks away and walks back the way they'd come, silently.

* * *

><p>In the coffee shop, the Doctor and Clara are talking about otters, lost in their own little world, and Donna is only half following their hilariously mad conversation. The other half of her is busy eating cake, and feeling just a bit sorry for poor Danny. She offers him the other half of her cake and he takes it without a word, staring right at Clara and nothing else, watching the way she smiles when she's talking with her pal and not him.<p>

Donna sighs and sips her tea and Danny whispers quietly, because they're both now listening to this mad conversation with what could probably be called too much interest, "Thanks."

"No problem," she replies, and he finally tears his gaze away from Clara to look her in the eyes and she thinks he's probably not just talking about the cake, either.

Clara laughs and piffs a half eaten Jammie Dodger at the Doctor and he manages to look affronted before rescuing it from a sad and lonely fate and eating the rest of it.

"Did you just eat my biscuit?" Clara blurts, eyes like saucers.

"It was an orphan, yeah? You abandoned it."

"You ate my biscuit!"

Donna smiles and points at her face and her coloring cheeks. "This is me, cringing with embarrassment inside. Smiling like a silly prawn on the outside."

"And I didn't abandon it, I set it free with love!"

"Oh boy!" Donna whispers, sipping her tea quickly.

"Clara?"

"Hi, Danny," Clara breathes happily, tenderly.

He passes her the biscuit from his plate, not a jot of a smile on his face.

"My Danny!" she laughs. "I love you."

"Yeah, me too," he agrees seriously. "I love you too."

She turns back to the Doctor, smiling, and takes a bite of her biscuit. "That is an overstatement. A total and utter overstatement. You were embarrassed out of your floppy, love happy mind! Look at you smiling! I knew it! Yes! Score more for Team Time Ladies!"

"I need more cake," Donna says abruptly. "What about you, Danny? More cake."

He nods, sighing seriously. "Yeah, I could go for more cake. My teeth hurt but cake is good. Cake is great. Let's have more cake. Thank you, Donna."

She shrugs, gets to her feet. "It's nothing." As she walks away, she kind of wants to stay and listen to more crazy stories, but the cake is calling to her.

* * *

><p>Standing on the pavement in the cold breeze, the rain finally having let up at last, Danny and Donna share a hug before Donna leaves, opening her umbrella just in case and heading across the street once more.<p>

Clara stands close to the Doctor and frowns, touching Danny's arm gently. "She was nice, wasn't she? I see you made fast friends."

Danny looks at the pavement instead of her, then turns his gaze on the Doctor. "You've had your day. You should be happy. Try looking a bit more happy, eh?" He pries Clara's hand from out of the Doctor's. "Now if you don't mind, I'll be having my fiancée back now. Actually, mind all you like, I don't care."

"Danny!"

"Clara," he says, very serious.

"'My fiancée,'" she pouts.

He laughs. "Right, right. Or maybe you prefer 'my Clara'?"

This time she really looks sad; she's not playing anymore.

"Oh, I forgot, I can't call you that because _he_ does!"

She sniffs and Danny holds tighter to her hand in case she thinks to reach for the Doctor. She turns anyway, her expression nothing but serious. "I'll see you." She winks, perfectly serious, and the Doctor manages to frown.

"See you, Clara."

"Happy birthday."

"Yeah."

She smiles. "Stay clever."

He smiles back. "Stay impossible."

She winks brightly and spins back to Danny. "Shall we be off now, my love?"

"It's about time, yeah," he grumbles and puts an arm around her and they head off together.

The Doctor opens Amelia's book and touches the words River wrote, closing his eyes so he can listen to the breeze, but he only hears Clara's laughter tinkling softly on the wind and he closes the book and opens his eyes. "I'm sorry, River. I never quite told you how special you were, to me. Isn't that just so me? That tiny bit too late, or too scared. Once it's done, it's done. You can't take the words back, or un-write time. But I wish I could. I wish I could tell you, River. I love you. Always."

END


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